He may not have won a Super Bowl ring in February, but Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward might be on his way to a showdown for another type of trophy in a few months – a mirrorball – facing off against the original “Karate Kid” Ralph Macchio and former “Cheers” babe Kirstie Alley on “Dancing with the Stars.”
Although still in the early stages of the competition, Ralph, Hines and Kirstie took the top three spots, respectively, on the leaderboard on Monday night, thanks to their impressive two-week totals.
The top scorer of the two-week period was Ralph, who took the No. 1 spot overall after his Monday night wild jive with longtime “DWTS” professional dancer Karina Smirnoff. Their number was a crowd-pleaser, but the judges said it wasn’t quite perfect.
While judge Bruno Tonioli complimented Ralph on his “like-ability factor,” both he and Carrie Ann Inaba suggested the raven-haired former “Ugly Betty” star needed more precision with his moves.
Still, Ralph’s energetic dance floor action did impress the panel enough to give the pair 21/30 points, which was added to their big score last week, and brought them to the top of the leaderboard with a total of 45/60 points.
Hines actually earned a higher score on Monday evening than Ralph. Dancing with Kym Johnson (who previously won “DWTS” with Donnie Osmond during Season 9), the two took on the quickstep and Hines’ precision-laced moves were impressive enough to earn them a score of 23/30, for a two-week total of 44/60.
Last week, Kirstie and her partner, ballroom bad boy Maksim Chmerkovskiy, stunned the crowd with some fancy footwork, and on Monday they impressed again… for the most part.
Len cut their quickstep score because he said Kirstie, “lost energy near the end,” an indication he missed out on the lip-on-lip action between Maks and Kirstie, who smooched as they completed their number.
Both Carrie Ann and Bruno did notice the kiss, and it seemed to help the pair’s Monday total to 20/30, for a two-week total of 43/30.
The first week scores helped Hines, Kirstie and Ralph maintain their Top 3 status, but a crop of challengers stepped up their game, including pro wrestler Chris Jericho, who went from a dismal start last week, to tying Monday’s top single night score – 23/30 – for his quickstep with Cheryl Burke.
Also hitting the 23 point mark was Romeo with his partner, Chelsie Hightower. The two tried out the quickstep and quickly found it fit their young personalities, something the judges also noticed.
“You are the one to watch,” Bruno enthused.
“That was the best dance of the night,” Len Goodman chimed in. “I liked it.”
Beyond the dancing, Len, himself, was a ballroom standout, for his evening of odd remarks.
He told the audience to, “Talk to the hand,” when they booed his Sugar Ray Leonard slam and suggested Kendra Wilkinson’s “chesticles” got in the way of her quickstep with Louis van Amstel.
Later, he said the theatrical stage set up for Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas’ jive put them in a “sticky wicket,” and he also suggested Mike Catherwood danced, “like a wasp at a picnic.”
One couple will be eliminated on Tuesday night, the first elimination of the season.
The two-night score totals were:
Ralph Macchio & Karina Smirnoff scored 21/30 for a two-week total of 45/60
Hines Ward & Kym Johnson scored 23/30 for a two-week total of 44/60
Kirstie Alley & Maksim Chmerkovskiy scored 20/30 for a two-week total of 43/60
Romeo & Chelsie Hightower scored 23/30 for a two-week total of 42/60
Chris Jericho & Cheryl Burke scored 23/30 for a two-week total of 42/60
Chelsea Kane & Mark Ballas scored 18/30 for a two-week total of 39/60
Kendra Wilkinson & Louis van Amstel scored 19/30 for a two-week total of 37/60
Petra Nemcova & Dmitry Chaplin scored 18/30 for a two-week total of 36/60
Sugar Ray Leonard & Anna Trebunskaya scored 17/30 on Monday for a two-week total of 34/60
Wendy Williams & Tony Dovolani scored 17/30 for a two-week total of 31/60
Mike Catherwood & Lacey Schwimmer scored 17/30 for a two-week total of 30/60
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